Rough Seas
by x-SystemRestore
Summary: Piracy is abundant in this era. Everyone is in search of the Pirate King's treasure, the Eye of The Seas, a mystical jewel that will grant anyone's true wish and fulfill their desires.
1. Prologue

**Character List: **

**Ryan Hunt **_- 24 years old_

**Iris Lyndall** _- 27 years old_

**Rough Seas**

**Prologue - Unforgiving**

* * *

><p>The sky was painted in different hues of orange, pink, red, and gray. A series of blazing fires illuminated the surroundings. The orange flames licked the wood on a grand pirate ship, now slowly being reduced to mere ashes.<p>

A single man emerged from the wreckage. He was badly injured from the grueling battle and he tried his best to limp away in search of some sort of relief.

"Running away isn't going to solve anything, captain," a female voice called out teasingly.

He immediately heard the rattling of chains and a sharp whistling noise run past his ear. Using all of his remaining strength, he spun around, barely dodging the chain sword aimed at his head. His heart beat mercilessly at his chest as he faced the woman that attacked him. Seeing as how he had no real means of an escape, he stood his ground and decided to go down fighting.

"See?" The woman giggled as she emerged from the thick cloud of smoke. She retracted her chain sword and grabbed it in her hand. A smile made its way across her pale face as she set her pink eyes on him. "I can get a better look at you when you're not running away from me." She noticed him shaking as he held his heavy firearms up to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked almost sweetly. "You're not scared are you?" Giggling, she shot out of her chain swords to him, barely grazing his cheek. "The _fearless_ pirate...Ryan Hunt. Tell me, are you scared of me, Ryan?" she asked. retracting her sword.

He had barely enough energy to even answer her properly. The real reason why he was trembling was because of the pain wracking his body. It was almost unbearable. He had cuts and wounds almost everywhere. He lost so much blood, but yet had enough to keep him standing and somewhat conscious.

Ryan was fighting a silent battle with himself as he fought to keep on his feet.

Wasn't it just his luck to run into the cursed flame witch of the seven seas, Iris Lyndall. He knew that she was ruthless and unforgiving to her enemies. This was evident from how she and her crew managed to kill off every single one of his men.

"You look tired," she said as she walked over to him casually.

Ryan narrowed his icy blue eyes and raised his rifle at her.

"What is this?" she asked, clearly amused with what he was doing. "Are you sure you have the strength to fight me? You look like you'd be passing out any minute now."

As if she had said the magic words, Ryan felt his knees buckle out from underneath him. He grunted as he fell to the scorched wooden planks on what remained of his ship's deck. Ryan heard her lightly giggle again. How he hated that laugh...

The heavy gatling gun that was attached to his right arm felt like it was a lead brick. He supported himself with the same arm and tried to get back up on his feet, but this was a harder task than he thought.

Ryan heard the soles of her shoes clacking as she walked over to him. He lifted his head and looked at her directly in the eyes.

"Too tired to fight me?" she cooed, kneeling down in front of him. Iris set aside one of her chain swords and cupped his chin, tilting his head up more. "I thought you'd put up more of a fight since you're a lot younger than anyone else I've fought. Too bad, I guess vitality can't be measured by age."

In a last ditch attempt to fight her off, Ryan grabbed hold of her thin wrist. He tried to injure her by pure strength, but it was useless. The female pirate showed no signs of pain as he tightened his grip. He was just too beaten and weak to inflict the damage he desired.

Iris laughed at his feeble attempt to hurt her. "Hmm, still not giving up. I like that in a man."

Ryan grit his teeth, angered by how lightly she thought of him. It was almost as if she didn't think of him as a threat at all.

"Does the _great_ pirate captain, Ryan Hunt...dislike this?" Iris ran her thumb over a fresh cut on his cheek, causing him to flinch. "Is this your first defeat? I wonder..." she muttered, bringing her bloodied thumb up to her lips and licking his blood up.

"Go to hell," he growled with his frost blue eyes gleaming with malice and hate.

"Such a hot temper you have!" the pink haired pirate exclaimed, once again amused by him. "But perhaps you should change that. It's probably because of that temper that got you into this mess. Maybe...-" she paused, running her thumb over his smooth lips, "-...I'll have to train you to hold that sharp tongue of yours. How does that sound?"

Ryan narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. "Like I'd ever be your servant."

"But _I_ won, didn't I? Hm? Fair and square?" She smiled cockily at him. "If I'm correct, then...I should be entitled to the spoils of war. In this case, it's you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN **_I think this is the first fanfic in this section LOL _

_I think the majority of you that will read this are not regular players of Lunia (or you have never played it at all). It doesn't really matter to be honest because this story won't really reference back heavily to the game. In fact, I'm treating this story like an original story and the only reason why I've decided to put it up on ff dot net was because I'm using Ryan and Iris as the main characters so I wasn't really sure if I could call it an "original" story if I'm using preexisting characters. Point being, I hope you guys will give this story a shot. I know I am. Lulz_

_(This story's rating MAY be raised to M because I do plan on adding in a somewhat "mature love scene" in it later on)_

_Please leave me reviews, comments, concerns, inquiries, etc..._


	2. The Man With the Bounty

**Ryan Hunt**_ - 24 years old _

**Iris Lyndall **_- 27 years old_

* * *

><p><strong>Rough Seas<strong>

**Chapter 1 - The Man With The Bounty**

"Break open another keg! I'm not goin' back home tonight!"

The tavern was filled with energy. Groups of drunk sailors sang together as they hooked their arms with each others. They slurred the chorus, but it didn't seem like anyone minded.

On the other side of the tavern, there were three violin players all madly playing away at their instruments in a fast paced song, to which the sailors danced to in an awkward display of flailing other sailor cheered them on while groping away at the giggling bar maids that slung to their sides, seeming as though they did not mind the burly, sweaty bodies of the sailors that held them.

Within the tavern however, amidst the festivities, there was a young man that sat upon one of the rotten bar stools. He kept his back facing towards the main area of the tavern, solemnly sipping away at a bottle of whiskey.

"Why the long face, sugar?"

He turned to see two women dressed rather provocatively in low cut dresses.

"You look like you could use some fun," the blonde one said, giggling as she touched his shoulder. She began to gently massage him while moving closer so that her ample chest pressed up against his arm. "You can have both of us for the night for the right price."

The young man looked back down at his whiskey bottle and then reached into his burgundy colored coat. He pulled out two small bags and dumped them on the counter.

"Twenty pieces of gold," he muttered.

"Well! At least you're not stingy!" the redheaded woman exclaimed. "But me and my friend thinks that you look kinda cute so if you could give us both a good time, we can come to a lighter agreement-"

She stopped talking when he pulled out a small, aged photograph of a man.

"Tell me who this is," he asked, facing them.

"Him?" The blonde woman took the photograph from his hand and inspected the man in it.

"He frequents this tavern," the silver haired man explained. "He may have been in here earlier tonight."

"Hmm, I think he was our customer a few days ago."

"Let me look at it." The redhead took the photo from her friend's hand and exclaimed, "he was the one that was too drunk to do anything! Remember? He didn't even give us a single piece of gold for having us both!"

"Oh right! Only silver and copper pieces."

"Have you seen him tonight?"

"Seen him? He has the nerve to grope us without permission...or without payment!" They both said with a scoff. "In fact, he should be at the other side of the tavern. With any luck, you could catch him before he leaves."

He thanked them as he stood up from the bar stool. Slowly, he made his way through the crowds of sailors and silently scanned through for the man in the photo.

Why was he hunting him the first place? Even though he and his crew had come into some large amounts of wealth through raiding other pirate ships, there was no harm in having a little extra money. In this case, the extra money was going to come from a nobleman that had placed a bounty on a sailor's head. The same sailor that he was searching for.

His frost blue eyes looked over the men that he passed, but none of them looked like the sailor he was tracking down. Did he already leave the tavern?

That was when the silver haired man looked towards the front entrance and saw a stocky sailor drunkenly wave goodbye to his crew.

That was him, the man with the bounty on his head.

* * *

><p>"Yo' ho! Blow the man down...!" he sang incoherently, swaying side to side. It looked as though he had no idea where he was going.<p>

Walking drunkenly down the dark street, he failed to notice someone was following him.

"Who's the pretty lady? You're the pretty lady..." He scratched his head, making the stripped blue bandanna around his head loose. The cloth fell to the ground behind him. "Oh no, no, no."

The blond sailor turned around and bent over to pick up his fallen bandanna. Just as he did, he felt the barrel of a gun being pressed against his temple. "Wh-What...?"

"Thomas Wright..."

Trembling from the sound of the gun being clicked, the sailor managed to stutter out, "wh-who are you? How do you know my name?" He felt the gun being pulled away from his head. His frightened, trembling voice picked up again when she raised his head to look up at the man that stood before him.

"You're a pirate too?" Thomas asked, noticing the skull and crossbones emblem on the man's red pirate hat. "Then...we're on the same side! Aren't we? Please...please don't kill me," he pleaded pathetically.

"I wouldn't even waste my time on scum like you, but you have quite the bounty on your head. I'm only looking to collect the money."

"What? A b-b-ounty?"

"And if you really must know who I am-" he clicked his gun and squeezed the trigger. His gaze hardened as he looked straight into the fear filled eyes of the man on his knees. "-my name is Ryan Hunt."

A single gunshot rang through the dark night. A few rats in the nearby alleyway scattered at the loud noise, squeaking miserably as they hid in their mounds of filth.

The sailor dropped dead at the young captain's feet. Blood rushed out from the single wound in the middle of his forehead as he lay on the ground motionless.

Ryan bent down and took a lock of the man's hair in between his fingers. With a sharp yank, he pulled them out from his scalp and knotted it together. "What a shame," he whispered, opening up the small brown bag tied to his waist. He dropped the lock of dirty blond hair in and closed it up carefully. He needed it as proof later on.

* * *

><p>He could only hear the sound of loud munching and slurping in the room.<p>

"So, you want your reward?" he heard the duke ask with a mouthful of food.

"Fifty thousand, in gold," Ryan replied, tossing the lock of hair he had collected from the man that he had killed. "I'm sure that he won't be bothering your daughter anymore."

The enormous man stopped eating momentarily to take the hair and inspect it with his small beady eyes. "Very good. The world is better off without that pest." He tossed the lock of hair back on the table beside his soup spoon and promptly went back to eating. "I could tell that he only got close to my daughter for my money."

Ryan didn't answer him. Instead, he turned his head and looked out at the gray, overcast skies through one of the large windows in the dining hall. "When will I be given my payment?" he asked. His black boots made a little sound on the cleanly polished floors as he turned back towards the pot bellied duke. Ryan let his eyes wander down to the large sapphire necklace that the duke wore, but he quickly and discreetly, looked away before he was caught staring.

"Patience. I'm sure that your crew can wait for you to return. Come, sit! Relax."

When all Ryan did was remain rooted to his spot, the duke let out a disgruntled sound and dabbed at his lips with a napkin, wiping away at the oils.

"You never had an intention of giving me the bounty money, did you?"

A hoarse chuckle turned into a loud laugh as the duke clutched his stomach. Ryan silently stared at him and waited until the burly man caught his breath.

"You're as sharp as you look, eh? However, I'm sure you weren't prepared for this."

The duke snapped his fingers sharply. Almost immediately, all the doors that led into the dining hall opened up and the duke's guards came pouring in. A group of them surrounded Ryan and pointed their polearms at him.

Ryan kept his light blue eyes fixated on the duke, looking as though he was unfazed by the amount of guards that were around him. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked calmly.

"It seems as though you, yourself, have a bounty on your head. Over half a million in gold to be exact."

"On what grounds?"

The fat man chuckled and wiped his oily fingers on a dirty napkin. "What other grounds are there?" His lips turned up into a smug grin. "Piracy, of course."

Ryan narrowed his eyes at the duke.

"Surprised? It's not like you were granted automatic immunity for your crimes just because you hunt down other wanted criminals. His majesty doesn't seem pleased at all with how you raid the coastal towns."

"Then shouldn't you be ordering your men to lower their weapons? I'm sure the king doesn't want me dead."

"On the contrary, the reward goes up if you were dead-"

With an immeasurable speed, Ryan drew out one of the pistols strapped to his waist and pointed it at the pot bellied duke. The man immediately let out a sharp whimper at the sight of the weapon.

"Let me go," Ryan ordered, clicking the gun and gently squeezing the trigger.

At the sound of the weapon being readied to fire, the duke shivered, but remained firm on his decision. "Y-You can't shoot me. Do you want to add the assassination of a high official to your ever growing list of crimes?"

After a long minute of silence, Ryan finally let out a soft scoff as he smirked. "What crimes?" he asked.

With great speed and agility, he jumped up onto the dining table, right in front of the duke, who let out a terrified sound. "St-Stop him! He's going to kill me!"

Ryan bent down and took hold of the large sapphire necklace that rested on the man's chest. "This will be payment enough," he whispered into the duke's ear just as he ripped the article of jewelry from his neck. He brought the necklace up and bit down on the gold chain with his teeth, holding it in his mouth.

Without anymore delay, he jumped up and grabbed at the dusty chandelier hanging above their heads. He saw the guards running around the long table and start to form around behind the duke, attempting to block Ryan from escaping.

The pirate swung his legs, gaining momentum, and aimed his gun down at one of the guards. He shot off a round and it merely rebounded off of the shiny breastplates the guard wore. However, the noise created a slight panic and Ryan used this as a distraction.

He swung down from the chandelier and brought down the guard that he had hit with his gun. The man grunted and landed on his back as Ryan kicked him down.

Wasting no more time, Ryan stepped over the fallen guard and ran towards the door. His hands grabbed at the black ringed doorknockers, but the large doors refused to open up. Seeing as how he had to use force to open the door, Ryan reholstered his spent black powder gun and pulled out the last two strapped to his waist.

He turned around and shot off both of them at the charging guards, causing a panic again. Using the time that he bought for himself, Ryan turned back to the door and gave it a strong kick.

The door splintered and burst open, providing Ryan with the exit that he needed.

"Get him! Don't let him leave the castle!"

The duke's voice echoed down the hall and Ryan soon heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind him. He knew that the guards were close behind him and there was a real possibility that he wouldn't get out of here.

He reholstered both of his spent guns and took the necklace he held in his mouth. Hastily, he shoved it into the brown pouch around his waist.

"That little thief!"

Ryan felt the air around him getting colder and he knew that he was getting closer to the outside. Sharply, he turned a corner and felt his heart drop when he saw that the cold draft was only because of an open window. Clenching his fists, he ran up to the window and peered down.

It was a sharp drop down to the crashing waves and sharp rocks below, not to mention, the bay that was below him was full of sharks.

"Nowhere else to run now, Mr. Hunt."

Ryan turned back sharply and saw the duke along with his guards behind him. The duke let out a haughty laugh and said, "why don't you just come with us quietly? If you give me back the necklace, I just might not hurt you."

The silver haired pirate backed up until his hips met the wooden windowsill. He placed his gloved hand on it and asked with a slight smirk, "is that a promise or an offer?"

"Of course, I keep my word."

Looking back down at the watery grave below, Ryan muttered, "I think I'll have to decline."

"Excuse me?"

Ryan placed one foot on the windowsill and smiled back at the duke. "I would much rather die than be captured."

"Stop right there-!"

He pushed off the edge and immediately, felt the feeling of being weightless as he hurtled down towards the violent sea below. The chilly breeze felt like razors against his face and chest, cold and sharp.

Finally, when he hit the water, it shocked his senses. A froth of bubbles surrounded him as he sank into the depths. The ocean was dark, so much that when he opened up his eyes, he couldn't see anything in front of him. Ryan looked up and saw what little light the surface had to offer, slowly fading away as he sank in deeper. He knew that if he surfaced now, it would look like he survived the fall.

He willed himself to hold his breath, but his lungs felt as if they were going to burst. They screamed for air desperately.

It took all of his strength to finally use his arms to swim up to the surface. When he broke through the water, he gasped loudly and coughed as he floated there among the waves. Ryan looked up at the cliffside and saw that there was no sign of the duke or his men. They must have given up on their search.

Relieved that he managed to get away, he swam back to the shore. He coughed and gagged up the mouthfuls of sea water he had swallowed. The salty taste made him cringe.

"Quickly! Find him! He should have surfaced here!"

They were still after him?

"Damn it," Ryan whispered under his breath as he pushed himself up onto his feet. His whole body ached, but he willed himself to keep going. He stood by what he said earlier to the duke. He refused to be captured. He would much rather die.

He ducked into the cover of the forest and continued to run, never looking back to see if he was still being chased. Thorns and loose branches pricked and scratched at his face and hands as he ran through the thick brush, but he didn't care for the stinging pain.

After what seemed like an hour of running, Ryan came to a stop at the mouth of a cave. He panted and went in without a second thought. It seemed like a suitable hiding place, at least until the morning. He was sure that the duke would call off the search if his men couldn't find him until the first light of daybreak.

Ryan sat himself down on the cold ground and stripped himself of his burgundy overcoat. It dripped of seawater as he spread it out on the ground, allowing it dry. He grunted at how much his body ached and hurt. It seemed as though the fall that he took had a greater damage on his body than he thought. He only hoped that his body would get better once he got a bit of rest.

"Just for a little bit," he muttered as his light blue eyes slowly closed, surrendering himself to the depths of sleep.

* * *

><p>She could only hear the sound of twigs snapping underneath her foot. A little smile made its way across her face when she saw the mouth of a cave. "Are you in there?" she asked to no one in particular as she made her, slowly and silently, towards it.<p>

There was a cold draft coming in and out of the cave, but she paid no mind to it, especially when she peered into the cave and saw someone sleeping inside of it.

"Why are you sleeping all by yourself, captain?" Her voice was light and airy as she approached him. "It's cold in here, isn't it?"

Her long pink ponytail rolled off her shoulder and rested over her chest as she knelt down beside him. She carefully placed her knees on the cold ground, making sure that she didn't marr her pale legs. Her pink eyes shimmered excitedly when she stared at his sleeping form. Carefully, she set down her two chainswords on the ground and brought her hands up to cup his face. He continued to sleep.

Smiling at this, she moved closer towards him. Her thin fingers danced across his face, lightly touching and feeling the contours of his nose, jaw, and cheeks. Still, he slept soundly through it.

She giggled and sighed. "Jeez..." Carefully, she straddled him across his waist and tilted his head up to face her. "You're much too defenseless captain..." she whispered just before she captured his lips in a kiss.

Her hands trailed down, running over his smooth neck and muscular chest and broad shoulders, then down to his hand, where she slipped a small white emblem onto his palm.

Pulling away, she gave her soft lips a little lick and grinned . "A little something to remember me by." Her hands wrapped around his hand and closed his fingers up around the emblem.

"You'll be mine the next time we meet, Ryan."

* * *

><p><strong>AN **_What is Iris' connection to Ryan!  
><em>

_Review please! Reviews = more motivation to me _


	3. The Puppet

**Ryan Hunt** - _24 years old_

**Iris Lyndall** - _27 years old_

**Katherine Lyon **_- 20 years old_

* * *

><p><strong>Rough Seas<strong>

**Chapter 2 - The Puppet**

His head throbbed and he came to the conclusion that he had caught some type of cold.

Ryan groggily rubbed his eyes free of sleep. Sleeping on the ground of a cold cave wasn't really one of his brightest ideas, but it was for the sake of avoiding capture so, he didn't complain.

As he moved to get up, he felt a small metal object in his left hand. He opened up his hand and saw an all too familiar emblem. A dark purple diamond outlined in pure white with squareish wings protruding from it; the emblem of the Royal Guards.

Ryan clenched his fist around it tightly until the sharp corners poked at his skin. Someone was toying with him.

He got onto his feet and bent down to pick up his still damp coat and hat. None of his clothes dried up overnight, but that was the least of his worries. All Ryan was worried about was his crew and his ship. Did the Duke have the authority to seize his ship?

He needed to get back, fast.

Quietly, he walked out of the cave and into the warm sunlight. He relished the feeling of warmth rushing over his body.

"Slept well?"

Ryan widened his eyes and turned around. A girl he had never seen before, stared back at him with an arrogant gaze and a sly smirk. She confidently walked over to him and stopped when she was just a few feet away. "What do you want?" he asked defensively, a little wary of this random encounter.

The woman crossed her long legs. "What do you think I want, Ryan?" she asked, slowly walking up to him.

"How do you know my name?"

She giggled and asked, "how could I not? You're the one that's being hunted by the king and his men. The man with the bounty on his head. A handsome amount too, I might add."

"Is that why you're here?" Ryan asked, his hand going back towards the pistols around his waist, then remembering that they probably would not fire because they were soaked. But...she didn't need to know that.

Her pink eyes flickered over to his hand reaching for his guns. She let out an amused chuckle and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "They won't fire for you, captain. You of all people, a seasoned marksman, should know that."

Getting annoyed with her, he sternly asked, "tell me who you are."

"Hm, I suppose it's unfair to you." She smiled as she stepped forward and he stepped back in response.

They continued this until his back met with the trunk of a tree. She had him cornered and he had no way to escape when he had no means to defend himself.

Finally, she stood right in front of him. He looked down at her as she looked up at him. "Would you like to know who I am?" she asked, leaning up and whispering into his ear. She leaned against him even more, making it so that there was absolutely no space in between them. She smiled slyly when she saw him react to the feeling of her breasts against his chest. "I know who you are, but you have no idea who I am."

She enjoyed it immensely when he shivered against her as she exhaled softly onto his ear.

"Iris," she whispered. "You should do your best to remember it, since I will be the one that'll capture you."

Ryan felt dazed with her seductive ministrations, but he clenched his teeth and raised his arms to push her away. "Like I'll ever be captured by the likes of you-" He stopped when she took hold of both of his wrists and pinned them to the tree.

"I guess you don't know...you're already captured by me." Iris gently kissed the nape of his neck and giggled softly when he shivered in response. She loved how sensitive he was to her touch.

Much to his disgust, Ryan found himself secretly enjoying this.

Although there was a stigma of being a sex-starved, drunk, greedy pirate, or at least that's how the rest of society viewed them, Ryan was as straight-laced as they come. Or maybe he was just good at suppressing his feelings.

"I've heard around that you're quite strict and straightforward," Iris said, moving her hands to the collar of his coat. "But for being a no-nonsense kind of man, you dress rather provocatively, don't you, captain?" She pulled the coat open gently, exposing more of his chest. Her blunt nails dragged across his skin lightly, eliciting a soft groan from his throat.

Iris giggled softly at this response. "So cute, aren't you? Seeing as how you're this sensitive, is this the first time you've been touched like this by a woman?"

When he didn't answer her, out of embarrassment and out of being dazed, Iris assumed it to be true and giggled again.

"Young, inexperienced, and handsome, quite the catch you are." The pink haired admiral licked her lips and finally pulled away from him.

Ryan nearly let his legs buckle from underneath him and he scolded himself when he knew that she had seen it. Although, unknown to him, his cheeks were flushed with a light pink color and his half-lidded eyes were turned away, too embarrassed to look at her.

Iris stared at his disheveled look with hungry eyes, but she resisted on teasing him even more.

"If you want more," she gently pulled down one side of his coat so that it fell off his shoulder. "You're always welcome to turn yourself in."

Ryan glared at her hatefully. "Like I'll ever," he whispered under his breath, still feeling euphoric after her touches.

"Suit yourself, but I don't feel like letting you go just yet."

"Why...?"

Iris smiled and replied with a sweet voice, "you're fun to play with."

Ryan froze when he heard her say that.

_"Why does she seem so familiar? Why did that sound so familiar?"_

"See you around...Ryan. And I do hope that you'll keep my calling card."

"What?"

"That emblem you have in your hand. Who knows? It may come in handy one day."

He saw her smirk and turn around to leave. Her hips swayed just slightly, seductively, and he couldn't help, but stare at her. When Iris finally disappeared into the thick of the trees, he clenched his teeth and whispered, "get a hold of yourself."

Ryan brought up the hand that held the white winged emblem and stared at it. Finally, he scoffed in disgust and shoved it into his coat. As he fixed up his clothes, he could still feel the feeling of her lips and hands roaming his body and it made him frown in bitter contempt.

He _hated _how he liked it.

* * *

><p>"Admiral, it's nice to see that you're back."<p>

Iris gave a cheeky grin to one her sailors that greeted her. "What? You thought I wouldn't?"

The sailor promptly flushed red and stammered, "we-well no! Of course we've expected you to come back!"

"Just kidding," she said with a laugh. "Now then, is the cargo all loaded up? The king has told me to set sail by the afternoon."

"Is there a reason he's putting such an urgency into the matter?"

Iris shrugged and let out a tired sigh. "Ah, who knows?" She walked up the gangplank, the gold colored soles of her red boots clacking against the smooth wood. "Make sure all the crew is accounted for before we take off."

The grand ship gently floated up and down against the side of the dock as Iris got on it. She was greeted by a few other soldiers and sailors before she made her way towards her own private quarters. She opened up the large, neatly embellished doors and quietly stepped into her cabin. The closing of the doors behind her drowned out the busy sounds of her men working to prepare the ship to set sail.

The pink haired woman sighed softly, partly in relief and partly because she was simply tired. For the whole night, she had been lingering close to the cavern where she found Ryan. Not only did she lose sleep, but she lost her sense of alertness.

Her eyes drifted over to her two, hooked chainswords that rested against her bedpost. She smiled pathetically and walked over to them. "Jeez...how could I have forgotten to bring you two?" she muttered, gently touching the cool metal handles.

She took off her red tricorne hat and hung it on her bedpost. Fatigued and tired, she plopped down on her comfy bed. As she rested her forearms over her eyes, she began to think back to her encounter with the rogue pirate. Iris bit her bottom lip and found herself to be smiling when she remembered his reactions to her touch. She could still feel the firmness of his muscles and the smoothness of his skin against her hands.

Iris wished to have spent more time with him, messing with him, torturing him...but she decided to save that for another day.

Another smile drew upon her face and finally she let out a little giggle. "How fun."

* * *

><p>"Are you okay, captain?"<p>

"What happened?"

Ryan furrowed his brow and attempted to quiet down his crew. "Nothing. Just put as many leagues as you can away from this place."

"But captain-!"

"Do it now," he said, enunciating each word clearly. "Now quit talking or else I won't hesitate to kill all of you." He wanted nothing more, but peace and silence in his own cabin.

Ryan let out a low sigh as he held his head. He was grateful that the duke hadn't made a move to take his ship before he got there, but now there was something else that bothered him.

The door to his cabin squeaked on its hinges as he opened it. His bed called out to him, but instead he went over to the small array of liquor bottles near his desk. Ryan grabbed one of the bigger bottles and pulled the cork out with his teeth. Tilting his head back, he took a hearty drink from it and sighed in relief. His throat was parched from the sea water last night and he had nothing else to drink until now.

Ryan took another large drink and set aside the bottle, for now. As he wiped away at his mouth with the back of his hand, he went over to his desk, where there were scattered maps and documents laying about. He reached into his bag and pulled out the sapphire necklace he had stolen from the duke. It glimmered even within the dark room.

He smiled in satisfaction for his catch, but something was still eating away at his mind.

Quickly, he dropped the necklace into one of the drawers in his desk and slid it shut. Ryan took off his red tricorne hat and ran his hand through his silvery hair. His fingers brushed past his neck and instantly he was reminded of that woman.

Ryan dug his hand into his coat and brought out the small white emblem she had left him. He held it in his hand for a while, running his thumb over the smoothness of the design. Finally, he clenched his teeth and scoffed. "What a load of bull," he muttered, carelessly tossing the emblem onto his desk, where it bounced then came to a rest beside one of his old compasses.

He went over to a large drawer in his cabin and pulled out a clean white blouse along with some old brown pants. He began to remove his damp clothes, when he heard a timid knock on the door.

"E-Excuse me, may I come in?"

Ryan didn't respond, knowing that she would come in anyways. And as he assumed, she did.

The door squeaked and out of his peripheral vision he could see her poke her head in. He could hear her let out a startled sound at the sight of him changing into his dry clothes.

"Was there something you needed, Katherine?" he asked, reaching around to unclip his neck piece.

The shy blond quickly shook her head. She grabbed at the fabrics of her long homely dress and stuttered out, "I was just...worried about your well-being. You were gone for the whole night and we didn't hear a word from you-"

"There's nothing to be worried about."

"Eh?"

Ryan turned towards her, finally making eye contact, which caused her blush. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Despite his stoic expression, he had a gentle tone directed to her, which made her smile and blush bashfully. "Yes, sir."

At the sight of her smile, Ryan quickly turned away, feeling a light fluttering feeling in his stomach. "So...did my men treat you okay while I was gone?"

"Yes, they're very hospitable. They aren't as 'rowdy' as you made them out to be." She giggled softly.

Ryan heard her walk up to him, the sound of each of her light footsteps causing his heartbeat to race. He flinched a little when he felt her small hand touch his bare back.

"U-Uhm...captain," she started, "I never got the chance to thank you. For saving me from...that life."

"Any sensible person would have done the same thing."

"But such kindness coming from a pirate like yourself." Katherine shyly wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head against his back. "I never realized that he had been abusing me until you showed me how I should be treated. I can't help, but be grateful, captain."

Ryan could still remember when he first laid eyes on her. She was working as a maid for a governor. Although she did her best to hide it as she stood beside him, Ryan could tell that she was scared to death of the man. As he spoke with the governor about the payment for a bounty, Ryan glanced at her from time to time. She would always be trembling, almost unnoticeably, and nervously pulling at the sleeves of her dress.

He finally locked eyes with her and saw the fear in her eyes.

"Thank you," Katherine whispered, holding him tightly.

Ryan snapped out of his own thoughts and turned around to face her. "Katherine," he muttered, taking her into his arms. He heard her let out a soft shy sound at the embrace. His heart beat terribly loud against his chest, but he couldn't care less if she heard it or not.

"C-Captain...?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he simply sigh and stroked the top of her head. "It's nothing," he whispered gently. "Nothing at all." Ryan let her go and turned back over to his bed.

Katherine stood there for a while, blushing shyly before she asked, "w-would you like for me to make you some soup?"

"That'd be great."

She nodded, flashing him a little sweet smile. Then she left his cabin.

Right after she left, Ryan closed his eyes and slipped a loose white blouse over his head. He tied up the strings, but kept them loose still. As he fastened the last knot, his hands lingered there. His heart was still beating fast and he knew exactly why it was.

He was in love. He was in love with a lowly servant. No...to him she was anything but.

"Katherine..."

Ryan tasted her name on his tongue and liked it. Just how he liked everything else about her. If only he could work up the courage to tell her how he felt about her.

He groaned softly as he fell back onto his bed. It was tiring to sort out his feelings and to be frank, it was a waste of his time. The only thing he needed to think about was about the large sum of money that was on his head.

Then almost immediately, the image of the female admiral's face popped up behind his closed eyes. He saw her cocky smile and he grit his teeth.

Irritating and annoying - those were the only two words that Ryan could think of that could perfectly describe her. Like she could ever capture him.

"What a stupid woman..." he growled out as he laid there on his bed.

Ryan brought down his fist on the soft bed in frustration. He was being played by her. They hadn't even had any prior encounters and he was being played like a puppet.

...And she was the puppet master.

* * *

><p><strong>AN **_I know it was a short chapter! And I apologize for making you guys wait for all this time, only for this much. qq_

_Honestly, when I first started this story, I really didn't have much a direction plot-wise, but I took the time to plan some more of the plot out and I think I finally got it! So, I'll do my best to update this story a lot more! _

_And, for those of you that have read my other stories, you might have noticed that some of the romance scenes were maybe "boarderline steamy" or just rated T. However, this story will have it's moments (as shown in the beginning part of the chapter) where it'll be teetering on the T/M side. (Might even go to M rated side at times). Simply put, both characters in this story are much older than the characters I usually write about and I feel as if they would "venture out", so to speak, to a more mature side of romance. _

_There won't be full-on smut or "lemons" since ff dot net is purging their database of explicit stories, but the romance will be on the level lower than that. _

_This is just a forewarning since I know that there are some people who are sensitive to such things. If you wish to keep reading this, just be warned that said "mature love scenes" will come up in the future. _

_With that being said, I bid you adieu until the next update!_

_And please, don't hesitate to leave a review. It's very much appreciated _


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